“Being told we may never have children was like being punched in the stomach. I’ve never had such a powerful, visceral reaction to something in my life.”
In my early ’20s, I didn’t want kids.
After losing my mom to breast cancer at a young age, I was terrified the same would happen to me.
However, once I married an incredible man, it became clear that we wanted to share our love with a family.
I realized instead of being scared to leave my kids like my mom, I should aim to become the incredibly strong, loving, devoted mother she was to me.
So, we started trying, but six months went by, and then a year and then two….
Being told we may never have children was like being punched in the stomach. I’ve never had such a powerful, visceral reaction to something in my life.
We had a two per cent chance of getting pregnant naturally. Two per cent – that number followed me around, taunted me, shattered my dreams.
Having a child had consumed my thoughts. I attended baby showers, signed cards of congratulations for co-workers, oohed and awed at friends’ bundles of joy and I was genuinely happy for them, but I was also concealing my own inner turmoil.
I was a mother without a child.
There was good news: the form of infertility we experienced has a high success rate with Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) in vitro fertilization (IVF).
After dozens of invasive tests, countless procedures, exhaustive doctors’ appointments, multiple daily injections, a seemingly endless protocol of oral and nasal medications, and thousands of dollars, we were finally pregnant!
Nine months later, we had a beautiful baby girl and two years later, we had a bouncing baby boy (using a frozen embryo).
Of course, it was all worth it for us and we truly are lucky because both of our children were conceived on the first round.
Many people are not so lucky, others simply can’t afford the thousands of dollars it costs to conceive children this way (IVF is not covered by the government).
But there is hope – Generations of Hope (GOH) Fertility Assistance Fund – a non-profit organization dedicated to giving families the ability to have children.
GOH’s main fundraiser, a gala called The Images of Hope (IOH), takes place at Hudson in Calgary on May 2 and is an exhibition featuring photographs and stories of IVF-conceived children.
The event features a catered dinner with games, entertainment and silent and live auctions. It’s a wonderful way to help make a family a reality because everyone deserves the chance to have a child of their own. Tickets can be purchased at imagesofhopegala.ca
Photo Credit: iStock
